Coyotes With Plenty Of Incentive To Take Care Of Business At Home In The Final Summit League Weekend
It's a numbers game this time of year in Summit League basketball. With two games to play, three teams are deadlocked for the coveted number three seed in next month's conference tournament in Sioux Falls.
South Dakota is in that trio as they get set to host North Dakota State and South Dakota State this weekend at the DakotaDome.
The Coyotes split on their final road trip last week, starting with ice cold shooting in the first half at Omaha which put them down by as many as 18 in the first half, only to rally for a second half lead, which led to another cold snap and an eight point loss.
USD head coach Amy Williams told me she was very disappointed with the way her team started in Omaha:
The Coyotes bounced back two nights later at Western Illinois with a solid first half and a balanced offensive attack that featured six players in double figures.
In a back-and-forth game in the second half, USD took care of the basketball and pulled out a three point win with clutch free throw shooting.
Coach Williams says she was happy with how her team responded after the setback in Omaha:
This week's home stand starts Thursday with a North Dakota State team the Coyotes beat by 17 last month in Fargo. In that game, Raeshel Contreras led the way with 28 points and six 3-pointers, as USD shot 57 percent in the first half.
Coach Williams knows the Coyotes need that same kind of effort to beat the Bison Thursday:
Tipoff is Thursday at 7:00pm in Vermillion.